A Little Smile Goes a Long Way
by Charlett
Summary: Oneshot Daath has been subject to a week of torrential downpour, and everyone's in a foul mood, all but Dist's assistant, Reiner. Nothing can seem to take away his smile! Will his smile be able to bring light back to the pious town?


My good friend Noirrac ( Noirrac dot deviantart dot com ) and I love Reiner, Dist's assistant. He barely had more than two lines, but that didn't stop us from fangirling over him. Most of Reiner's personality is taken from the bit of spoken dialogue, along with a bit of imagination. I'm sure you'll enjoy this story, it was written when I was in a super happy mood, so it's all nice and fluffy. Be on the lookout for other Daathians.

Oh, by the way, this story takes place before Anise has become a Fon Master Guardian, so this is at least two years before the events of ToA. And now, without further ado...

READ ON!

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Daath was visited by a torrent of water. The Score had predicted a flood, but the people of Daath hadn't expected it to be raining for a straight week! Everyone was asking for Score readings, wondering if this was a foretold omen of the flooding of the world. Omen or not, everyone was getting pretty down in the dumps about being cooped up inside, all but one person…

Dist the God-General's assistant, Reiner, smiled happily at the gloomy rain that pattered drearily on the windowpane, "Good day!" He called to the lovebirds he had been watching since their nest building. They scowled at him as they huddled together for warmth, and Reiner waved at them with a wide smile.

After finishing his greeting of the birds, he turned to begin dressing himself, "Hey, everyone!" He proclaimed joyously to the others who were sleeping in the beds, "Wake up! We've all got our jobs to do, after all!"

"Can it, Reiner!" One of them shouted, "none of us are waking up. No one but fanatical nutjobs are going on their pilgrimages today, so that means we don't have anything to do."

"But if we're not around," Reiner said with a rare face (that consisted of "not smiling"), "Then who's going to lead the fanatical nutjobs around and guide them on their monument sightseeing?" Everyone looked at each other from their beds, and turned back to the assistant.

"You?" The entire dormitory burst into laughter, including Reiner, who thought it was a good joke.

"That sounds about right!" Reiner replied after the last of the guffawing had died down. He adjusted his hat and stood up, "Alright, you all keep sleeping in, but I guess I'm getting the worm today!" The moment he closed the door, he heard even more guffawing. The man was glad that they were exercising their liver, and turned to get to his post. If Dist found him slacking off, he may have to wait another month before his promotion!

The assistant was so deep in his thoughts he didn't even notice that he had bumped into a young Fon Master Guardian (in training!), who appeared to be quite peeved that SOMEONE was off in lala land again, "Hey, Reiner!" Anise said with a huff, "get it together, will you?"

"Uh… Yes Sir, Ma'am Sir!" Reiner replied, smiling brightly at the girl who had become friends with his master. He gave her the traditional greeting of the Order of Lorelei, and the girl smiled as he began asking a question, "Pardon my prying, Lady Anise, but why are you down here? These aren't the quarters of the Fon Master Guardians (in training!)…"

Anise gave a huff, "prying indeed!" She said as she placed her hands on her hips, "last night when you and Dist ate dinner with Mama, Papa and I, you said you wanted the recipe for Mama's egg roll, right?"

Reiner thought back to last night and remembered that he had desired to have the recipe so he could make some of the egg rolls for Dist on a dinner night sometime. Looking down, he smiled at the girl, "Why, yes! I do believe you're ri-" he was cut off as a paper was thrust into his face.

"Well, here it is. Sorry I can't hang out to talk some more, Reiner, but if you'll excuse me, I need to go train with Tokunaga," and with that said, the Fon Master Guardian (in training!) turned on her heel and skipped off, muttering something about not being fully used to Dist's invention.

Reiner smiled as he tenderly tucked the recipe into his inside breast pocket, "Miss Anise sure is nice!" He said with a light air. He then realized what time it was, and grasped his hat as he rushed off to his post, "Oh, Lorelei, please let me make it on time!" He continued to run down the hallway, a smile still plastered on his face.

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Dist firmly reprimanded his assistant for being 2 minutes, 34 seconds, 21 milliseconds late, and decided to make the man go without dinner again tonight. Reiner smiled all through the verbal berating from the God-General atop a flying chair. Things could have been worse; he could have gone without lunch too!

"Master Dist's punishments are harsh, but fair," the assistant said absentmindedly, shivering with a smile in the cold as he stood right outside the cathedral, waiting for pilgrims to arrive. Hours passed, and still he stood erect and statuesque, his smile not wavering. He had missed his Score reading for this, but he was sure that Lorelei would bless him for being so pious! He barely realized he was sneezing by the time the cathedral doorway was opened.

"Hey… Reiner…?" The man turned to see Anise again, holding what appeared to be a blanket that was draped over her arm. She blinked at the sneezing man, and her eyebrows upturned in worry, "you're soaking wet!" She said.

"But I'm standing out of the rain…" He replied, sneezing violently. It was true; he was standing under the eves of the cathedral, keeping him from getting hit by the droplets… that weren't falling at an angle, as most of them were. He had been drenched by the water, and his entire face was turning red with his blood's vain attempt to keep him warm.

"You moron…" Anise said with a sigh, grabbing the man's sleeve and dragging him back into the cathedral. She held the blanket out to him, "Mama said that she was worried about you, standing outside all by yourself, so she asked me to give this blanket to you to keep you warm. She was right, it seems."

"Don't worry, Miss Anise, I…" He sneezed again, and Anise groaned as the phlegm blew on her face. The assistant rubbed his nose and smiled, "I'm fine."

Anise rolled her eyes, "Moron…" She spread her legs out and pointed at him dominantly, "I'm your superior, you know, so I can order you to take a break!"

"Why… Miss Anise! You know I couldn't do that!" Reiner said after wrapping the blanket around him, smiling good-naturedly at his little friend, "I've got to take care of the pilgrims that come!"

"Anise, what's going on?" The two turned around and saw Fon Master Ion and Fon Master Guardian Arietta standing before them. Ion looked at Reiner, and blinked, "Why, Reiner, you're soaking wet! You really should take a break!"

Reiner smiled brightly. The Fon Master addressed him! He felt light headed just thinking about it, "No, really, Fon Master," he said as both he and Anise greeted Ion with the greeting of the Order of Lorelei, "I couldn't impose. If I were gone, then all the pilgrims would be lost without a guide."

Ion simply shook his head, "oh Reiner…" he said with a smile, "I don't think that they'd be…" Ion stopped when Reiner, tipped towards the side, his eyes half banked (although his smile was still stuck on his face), "R… Reiner…?"

"Reiner!" Anise and Arietta reached out and grabbed at the man before he dropped to the floor. The Fon Master Guardian (in training!) gasped aloud at the smiling, unconscious Reiner.

"Ion!" Arietta said, "Shall I take him to the infirmary?"

Ion nodded, "Yes, I will collect the Seventh Fonists. We should do what we can to heal him quickly."

"Uuug…!" Anise groaned as the two girls picked him up off the ground, "he's heavy!"

"Don't whine, Anise!" Arietta said with a hiss, "Just follow me!"

"Don't tell me what to do, Gloomietta!"

"Please!" Ion cried, "Stop fighting!"

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The next thing Reiner realized was that he was staring at a bright, white ceiling. He was quite confused. The last thing he remembered was that Fon Master Ion was speaking to him. He became less confused when Fon Master Ion started speaking to him again, "Oh! You're awake! Thank goodness. The Scorers had said you were going to be fine, but I was wondering when you would wake up…"

"Fon Master! I'm so sorry I…" Reiner looked about, blinking at the white sheets that wrapped around him and his clean infirmary robe, "What happened?" He asked, a confused smile on his face.

"You passed out…" Ion answered, "You had come down with a cold, but the Seventh Fonists healed you."

"Is that so?" Reiner said, reaching up to rub his head. Silence passed for a moment, and the only sound that could be heard was the pitter pattering of rain upon the window, and then he continued with a grin, "Well then… I guess if I'm okay, I can get back to work, right?"

Ion was taken aback, "But Reiner…" He said slowly, "I already told Dist that you'd be taking the day off."

Reiner's smile disappeared, which made Anise suck in a breath, being worried about Reiner actually looking sad, "but… but…" He looked incredibly downcast, "But I want to help the pilgrims."

Ion smiled a bit, trying to cheer the man up, "But Reiner…" He continued, even slower than before, "We can't afford you to get sick again… if you passed out outside… you may not have gotten help in time…" The Fon Master looked to Arietta, who had a bowl of soup in her hands, "I told Dist to revoke his punishment of denying you dinner. You need your nourishment, after all."

"Fon Master, that's almost too nice of you…" Reiner said, attempting to smile as he took the soup and blew on it lightly, "I really don't deserve it…"

"Well…" Ion said, thinking hard as Dist's assistant began slurping up the soup, "I'll tell you what… if it stops raining, you can go out and help as many pilgrims as you want. Alright?"

All was right with the world as Reiner smiled again, shining his bright face at Ion, "A… Alright, Fon Master, thank you! Thank you so much!"

Ion stood up from his stool, motioning for Arietta to follow him. She gave Reiner one last look before following the Fon Master out of the room, leaving just Anise and he alone.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up, you know," Anise muttered, sitting up on the stool that Ion had just recently left (and it was still warm!), "It's been raining for a week. I doubt it's going to stop now."

Reiner beamed at Anise, "A little prayer goes a long way, you know," he replied, "I really want the rain to stop, so I'll ask Lorelei to make it stop." Anise shook her head with a giggle as the pious man looked up at the sky, and begged for the rain to stop, "Please… Lorelei…" he begged, "Please make the rain stop…"

Dist's assistant and the Fon Master Guardian (in training!) looked out the window. The wind howled and the rain pelted the window even harder. It didn't even look at all like it was ever going to end.

"Well… it was a good try…" Anise said, hopping off of the stool as Reiner continued to smile, hoping beyond hope that the prayer just hadn't reached Lorelei yet. He began to slurp up the last dregs of the soup, and he looked out the window.

He coughed on the soup and pointed, "Anise! Anise, look!" The girl whirled around, and her eyes widened. Outside, the rain was slowing down. The flood predicted in the Score had finally ceased, and the two lovebirds that Reiner had been watching flew through the air, twirling around each other in a dance of love as the sun shone through the receding clouds. He turned to his friend and smirked, "See, see, Anise? A little prayer DOES go a long way!"

"Well, you'd better get dressed quickly!" Anise said with a laugh, "let's go outside! Come on, hurry up!" She twirled around like a ballerina and flew from the room with an exuberant shout.

"H… hey, Anise!" Reiner called as he placed the soup bowl on the tray next to him and rolled out of bed, "wait for me!"

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The pilgrims were few and far between for visiting the cathedral that day, although the few that did arrive wondered just why there was a little girl with a stuffed animal and a member of the Order running, jumping, and playing amongst each other by splashing the puddles and kicking water at each other. It surprised them even more when the elder one approached them and offered them a guide around the monuments.

As the day drew to a close, Oliver and Pamela tsked at their daughter and her friend, who came into the cathedral soaking wet and sneezing, "You simply can't do that anymore, Anise!" Pamela chastised her daughter, "You'll catch cold!"

"How much fun did you have?" Oliver asked with a grin, and Pamela sighed. Anise and Reiner laughed aloud.

That night, Reiner crawled into his bed, rubbing his slightly stuffy nose and curling up to keep himself warm as he slowly drifted off to sleep. He was right; Lorelei did bless him that day for being extra pious. He drifted off to sleep, his smile still on his face, dreaming of the next day's wonderful happenings.

He couldn't wait…

**The End!**

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